Have you ever finished a great book and wanted to find more just like it? Or wanted to help your child find just the right book to read?

Niles District Library now offers NoveList Plus, a helpful resource to help readers match up with the books that are right for them.

It is made available through the Michigan eLibrary (MeL). Anyone with a Michigan library card, driver’s license or state ID can use MeL.org.

The resources available on MeL are not freely available on the web; they are freely available to Michiganders because they are paid for through the Library of Michigan, an agency of the Michigan Department of Education. Additional funding is provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the State of Michigan and the Library of Michigan Foundation.

The NoveList Plus database connects readers to their next book by making recommendations for what to read next. One of the most popular elements is read- alikes. If you’ve just finished a great book, log into NoveList Plus and find great read-alikes. Enter the name of your favorite author to get suggestions on other authors you might enjoy. For example, if you love reading books by Stephanie Barron, NoveList suggests you try books by Laura Joh Rowland. It even provides their reasoning:

“Rowland and Barron write cozy historical mysteries using famous 19th Century authors as their sleuths: Rowland’s Charlotte Bronte and Barron’s Jane Austin. These sleuths use their writing and positions to solve crimes. The books accurately depict early 19th Century English life while making their sleuths into believable characters.”

You can also get read-alikes for titles and series.

NoveList Plus contains lists of recommended reads and award-winning books. It covers both fiction and nonfiction titles for all ages from the youngest readers to adults. It also has extra content like reviews (both professional reviews and reader reviews), book discussion guides, curriculum guides, and other book-oriented articles. Book groups and teachers find these resources especially helpful.

Another MeL resource is NoveList K8, which helps teachers and parents just the right book by subject, age, awards won, books made into movies, and much more. This database provides reviews and information about the author. Users can create a reading wish list. Teachers will love the tools that allow them to search for titles based on Lexile levels and Common Core standards.

NoveList and NoveList K8 aren’t difficult to use, but they are feature rich; users will want to explore a bit to find the features that work best for them. And, as always, the staff at NDL are available anytime to step you through the process.

 

Nancy Studebaker is the executive director at the Niles District Library. She can be reached by email at director@nileslibrary.net